I had gone through a lot of things in my life, from my abusive childhood to the scraping by in the alleyways and parking garage cage fighting just so I could eat that night. But this had to be the worst thing I had ever gone through. I felt helpless, unable to do anything constructive. I wanted to punch holes in something or someone, I wanted to go out looking for Amelia myself. I wanted my daughter in my arms ASAP to know that she was okay.

Looking up, I saw Danielle hovering at the door, waiting for me to make my next move. She was just as scared as I was, her emotions all over her face. “What are my odds?” I asked, struggling to even get the words out.

“You don’t want to know that,” she said softly, her eyes watering with fresh tears. “Don’t think like that.”

“What am I supposed to think like then? Tell me, Danielle.”

“Benji,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

I let out a harsh laugh, wondering what the hell I had done to deserve this. Why hadn’t they taken me instead? Amelia was an innocent child who’s only fault was who her daddy was. “Just don’t. I can’t take it right now.”

Danielle pushed away from the door and came to join me on the bed, leaving room between us. “The day my daughter died, I thought my world was over,” she said, the emotion in her voice much like what I was feeling at this moment. “I wanted to blame everyone. I wanted to find out what I had done to deserve that hurt, to have my daughter ripped away from me before I had a chance to love her.”

She then looked at me. “I know what you are feeling Benji. I’ve been to that dark place before, and all I can say is that you cannot give up hope right now. I can’t tell you how many times I thought about giving up, committing suicide just so I could be with her. It was a dark time for me.”

I stared at her. “How did you get through it?” The hurt in my chest was only going to ease with Amelia’s smiling face staring up at me again. Otherwise, well, my heart would never beat again.

“A little hope,” she said with a sigh. “A great deal of soul searching and finding a reason to live. It wasn’t easy.”

“What if they don’t find her?” I asked, my voice breaking. I couldn’t live without that little girl now. They could take all the fucking medals and belts, take my fucking gym, but take my daughter? I wouldn’t be able to function.

Danielle reached over and took my injured hand in hers, her fingers lightly touching the swollen flesh. “We don’t think like that until there is nothing left. I wager whoever has taken Amelia is going to give her back. I don’t think their intentions is to hurt her in any way but rather hurt you.”

I laughed darkly. “They are doing a fucking good job at it then.”

The door flew open before Danielle could reply, Tony’s face looming out of the darkness. “They are on the phone.”

“Shit,” I said, pushing off the bed and racing down the hall, where the detectives were huddled around their machines. Hannah was holding my cell phone, her face white with worry as she handed it over. “I- it was ringing so I answered it.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as Henderson adjusted the device on the counter, nodding to me to answer the phone. Lifting the cell to my ear, I prayed that this was going to be the beginning of the end. “This is Benji.”

“Take one hundred thousand dollars to the corner of Thames and Charton. Place in the trashcan and await further instructions. You have two hours.”

“Wait,” I said, the voice unfamiliar. “I want to talk to my daughter.”

“Your two hours have already started.”

“Listen, you fucker,” I began, but the line was already disconnected. I threw the phone onto the counter, ignoring the clatter as it slid off the slick surface and hit the floor. “Shit!”

“You did good,” Henderson said, removing his headphones. “We are already working on a tracer. Do you have that kind of cash on hand?”

I shook my head. I might be doing pretty good in terms of business, but one hundred g’s? I had nothing like that.

“It’s alright,” Henderson said, pulling out his phone once more. “We will get it.”

Danielle came up to me as my apartment became a flurry of activity. “Don’t worry, they contacted you. That has to be a good sign.”

“He wouldn’t let me talk to her,” I said softly, feeling ill. “What if she’s already.”

Danielle put her finger on my lips, shaking her head. “No, don’t think like that. She’s fine. In two hours, she will be back in your arms, and we can put this whole thing behind us. I’m going to check in with the station. Let’s get someone to look at that hand of yours.”

I watched as she walked away, impressed by how she was handling the situation. Hell, she was doing it a great deal better than I was right now. Two hours. I had two hours to sit and wait until I could go drop off the money and get my daughter back. It was going to feel like an eternity.

* * *

Exactly two hours later, I dropped the money in a duffel bag into the trash, my eyes darting around to see anything remotely suspicious. “Good Benji, now back away,” the voice in my ear stated. I held up my hands and backed away, wishing the fucker would show his face. I wanted nothing more than to pummel his face in.

“Walk slowly back Benji. Good, you are doing good.”

The negotiator on the other end of the speaker piece was top of the line according to Danielle, and if it came down to a hostage situation, then he would be the man of the hour. But right now, all I was doing was dropping money into a trash can and hoping for the best. Only the first layer inside the duffel bag was actual money, the rest just paper cut to resemble money. The cops were hoping that once the kidnapper came out to retrieve the money, they would be able to arrest them and save Amelia. I only cared for the latter. Once my little girl was back in my arms would I worry about who did it.

The cops had talked with the other fighter, and he had denied doing anything like that, as well as the rest of his team. I hadn’t doubted it. That would be the dirtiest thing alive, and if he had done something like that, he would lose his title and his career. It would be a dumb ass move on his part.

So, they were back to square one, and I was on pins and needles to await my fate.

“Come on back now Benji. We got it from here.”

I nodded and walked back to the inconspicuous floral van parked on the curb with direct sight to the trash can, climbing inside. Danielle greeted me first, squeezing my uninjured hand comfortingly. “You did good.”

I let out a breath, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest. “I feel like I a total failure.”

“You’re not,” she said firmly, the events starting to wear on her. I could see the strain on her face, feel her weariness. “You’re doing a great job.”

I didn’t say anything, looking at the monitor that showed the trash can, willing the kidnapper to step out. I wanted to see who he was and find out why the hell he had done it. After I held my daughter for a very long time, I had already decided that she and I would go away after this, maybe to the beach for a week or so. I wanted us both to forget this ever happened.

“We have movement.”

My eyes tore to the other monitors, searching for someone that looked like a kidnapper.

“False alarm, we got a homeless person.”

“Shit,” I said, rubbing a hand over my face. This was stressful.

“I’ll be right back,” Danielle said, sliding the door open before disappearing outside. I didn’t say anything, knowing that she was in full cop mode right now and that was just fine. I didn’t know what I would do without her right now. Once I knew Amelia was safe, she and I would be having a talk about the future.

“What the hell is she doing?”

I looked up at the tech that was monitoring the screens on the van wall, seeing Danielle moving past the trash can. She looked as if she was on the trail of something. “Shit,” I said, throwing open the door and stepping out as well. I couldn’t let her be out there by herself, no matter how many police officers were watching her.